Thursday, July 3, 2014

After news broke that the Toronto Maple Leafs had made an offer to the Montreal Canadiens for Josh Gorges on Monday, June 30th, the Canadiens fan base went crazy. Some were happy, some confused, and many shocked.

Nobody was more shocked than the man himself, Josh Gorges. He was taken aback. He felt as though he was in Montreal for the long haul.

I felt as though it was a bitter-sweet moment. Gorges was a huge piece to the Canadiens success and was well known for his leadership and respect in the Habs dressing room. He wore the CH on his sleeve, and dedicated himself to the success of the team. However, it was time for the Montreal Canadiens to move on, without the assistant captain.

There were many factors that led up to the decision to move such a big leader off of a team who had such success last season. as a general manager of such a big hockey organization, every move made will be followed by scrutiny and mixed reviews. Marc Bergevin weighed his options, and decided that trading Gorges was the best option for the team moving forward. I one hundred percent agree with what Bergevin decided to do.

Marc Bergevin made a statement after the Habs game six loss to the New York Rangers that really made me think about how this off-season would go. He said that the leadership in the Canadiens dressing room was shifting. He said younger guys were prepared to take a bigger role on the team. He really stuck to his word by trading Josh Gorges, arguably the most predominant leader for Montreal.

This trade allowed Bergevin to shuffle his defensive dynamic, and allows a chance for a pair of young, NHL ready defencemen to break into the league.

The resigning of Mike Weaver provided a much cheaper option as a penalty kill specialist, and the addition of Tom Gilbert provides an option for Montreal's second power play unit.

PK Subban is due for a big raise, and in order to save the cap space that he is going to eat up, somebody had to be moved. Gorges was expendable as there were options in place to take his spot in the line-up.

This was a combination of a business move, and a hockey move. Both, in my opinion, were calculated decisions that will help the club in the immediate, and distant future.

Josh Gorges will be dearly missed in Montreal. Since his arrival in Montreal in 2007, he has been a fan favourite. He played his heart out each and every game, and was a big part of Montreal's core. I would like to wish him luck in Buffalo, and hope he finds success.

Back in Montreal, this trade has provided Bergevin with a 2nd round pick in 2016. This could potentially be a valuable pick down the line. On top of that, they have the slots available for the kids (Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, and Greg Pateryn) to make the big club full time. FINALLY.

Overall, I am happy with how this Gorges deal has turned out. Marc Bergevin isn't afraid to make the big moves needed for the better of the Montreal Canadiens.

1 comments:

Great read. To me this is where the conundrum is between sports as a business and sports as entertainment for the fans.

When it comes to the business side of the sport, Bergevin is spot on in his assessment that the team is to go to the youth. Trading Gorges, getting some cap relief, filling those holes with Gilbert and Malhotra is what is best fr the team on the ice.

The problem is that sometimes it also has to be about the fans. I grew up a Red Wings fan /(yzerman in particular) and I take pride knowing that Yzerman started and ended his career with the same team. I feel the same way with Markov and even though I know he doesn't help the team, there is still a part of me that wants Koivu back.

Gorges should have finished his career as a Hab but only for sentimental reasons, but for the better of this team, he is better off in Buffalo.